DEATH PROOF
IN ,THE OLD GUARD CHARLIZE THERON STARS AS AN IMMORTAL WARRIOR WHO HAS DEDICATED HER ETERNAL EXISTENCE TO SECRETLY RIGHTING HUMANITY'S WRONGS - UNTIL HER KIND BECOME THE TARGETS. TOTAL FILM TALKS TO THERON, CO-STARS KIM LAYNE AND CHIWETEL EJIOFOR AND DIRECTOR GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD ABOUT LOCKDOWN'S BIGGEST COMIC-BOOK BLOCKBUSTER...
When the story of 2020 in film is written it will be dominated by a virus that shuttered cinemas, brought the world to its knees and inspired the most awkward celebrity sing-a-long since Mamma Mia! But it should have been a very different story. This was the year that comic-book blockbusters finally afforded female filmmakers the same opportunities as their male counterparts, with Cathy Yan (Birds Of Prey), Cate Shortland (Black Widow),
Chloé Zhao (The Eternals) and Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman 1984) at the helm of the year’s biggest superpowered hitters.
Hope remains that, in most cases, their work will still make it to cinemas this year. But there’s one film that isn’t budging for the coronavirus: The Old Guard. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, Beyond The Lights), the adaptation of Greg Rucka’s Image Comics series, about a team of immortal mercenaries, is standing firm for the simple reason that it’s being released by Netflix – currently the only show in town for action tentpoles.
Call it luck or the benefit of launching on a pandemicproof platform, but despite possessing no connection to the MCU or DCEU, The Old Guard is now – by default – the biggest comic-book movie hitting (small) screens at the height of blockbuster season.
“Even prior to this crisis, I’ve always been very excited about the prospect of streaming, and that it allows for another avenue for people to see what we make,” Theron tells Total Film over the phone from her LA home, where she’s currently moonlighting as a movie star while spending her days as a replacement teacher for her two children. “Our industry is going to have to change after this crisis anyway. I do feel there are moments where you want to go sit in a theatre, and there are moments where you want to just sit on your couch – I don’t think one is better or more worthy than the other.”
The Old Guard was always destined for Netflix, but unlike many films now making a reluctant leap to streaming, the reason was never Covid-19. “It’s two female leads, and most of Hollywood would be cramming the numbers and panicked saying, ‘Are people going to see it? Because this is different, and if it hurts the box office maybe we shouldn’t do it?’” claims Prince-Bythewood, who had been looking to break into blockbusters for years before production company Skydance approached her, looking for the right woman to direct their white-hot comic-book script. “There was none of that with Netflix. They actually wanted a female-led action film. So it was just a different dynamic. And to have somebody want you as opposed to be afraid of you is a really nice feeling.”
Fear is the overwhelming emotion that most feel when they meet Theron’s ageless Andromache the Scythian, as not only can she wield a battle axe with lethal proficiency, but riddle her with bullets and she’ll be back on her feet before anyone can check for a pulse. Nowadays she goes by Andy, and for centuries she’s led a team of similarly ‘gifted’ mercenaries, including Matthias Schoenaerts’ Book (a jaded French soldier who sees his abilities as more of a curse), Marwan Kenzari’s Joe and Luca Marinelli’s Nicky (soldiers who fought on opposing sides during the Crusades, but have since become soulmates). It’s 200 years since anyone joined their ranks, but when American Marine Nile (If Beale Street Could Talk breakout KiKi Layne) makes a miraculous recovery after being declared KIA in Afghanistan, the Guard rush to recruit their newest member.
“I thought it was so interesting, the different perspectives,” Prince-Bythewood explains of the film’s philosophical approach to immortality. “Almost everybody in the world at some point has said, ‘I wish I could live forever’, because then you’re living without fear. But what I loved is that the film explores the tragedy of immortality. It really makes you question it. So what I connected to the most was this thought of how much time you get, and what you do with it. Are you going to be putting good into the world, or evil? I love that these characters have chosen to do good.”
Andy may have fought from the shadows for millennia, but when we meet her she’s lost faith in a world filled with violence and injustice. Despite her best efforts, on a global scale, nothing’s changed. “All of us have had those moments in our lives, right?” says Theron, an activist who was named a UN Ambassador for Peace in 2008. “She’s lost faith in herself, she’s lost faith in humanity. Everything she does feels like a drop in the bucket. How do you change things for the better? That is a concept that I could definitely wrap my head around, and that’s how I approached her, instead of trying to imagine what it was like to live for 6,000 years!”
Nile on the other hand is coming to terms with the simple fact that a new reality she didn’t choose means she’ll have to leave her friends, family and everything she ever knew behind. “The crisis that Nile has to go through… it’s like the stages of grief,” explains Layne, who is making the leap to action following a pair of hard-hitting literary adaptations. “Because in order to continue, she really had to let go of the life that she had always known. So we see her very emotional struggle with that, to finally accept it.”
Nile’s re-birth comes at an inopportune time for the Guard. Following a sting operation by former CIA spook Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the Guard’s inexplicable inability to die is exposed for the first time. But while Copley has altruistic intentions born from a personal tragedy, the man bankrolling the operation – billionaire business jerk Merrick (Harry Melling, aka Harry Potter’s Dudley Dursley) – has no qualms about capturing the Guard, and dissecting them like lab rats till he gets what he needs.
“There was something very honest about that,” says Ejiofor – no stranger to the grey areas of comic-book movie villainy following Doctor Strange’s Baron Mordo. “It just connected with me, someone who is trying to navigate these corporate and scientific worlds, but understanding the realities of all of these pressures. We’re all trying to do that, in a way, so it’s an interesting part to play and an interesting world to be a part of.”
The world of The Old Guard could be described as ‘grounded’ in modern comic-book movie terms. There isn’t a spandex suit in sight, for one, and in Prince-Bythewood’s words “these characters could be sitting in a Starbucks”. That approach extended to the intricate but believable fight choreography, which
Theron embraced with typical aplomb.
'I THINK ITS VERY POWERFUL TO BE ABLE TO TELL STORIES PHYSICALLY. AND WHEN I CAN FIND THOSE MOVIES, I BET VERY EXCITED' CHARLIZE THERON
“I have always been fascinated with physical storytelling,” Theron says. “Being a ballerina for most of my early life, I think it’s very powerful to be able to tell stories physically. And when I can find those movies where I feel like the story is strong in that sense, I get very excited.”
Theron’s passion for physical storytelling explains why production on The Old Guard kicked off not with a gentle dialogue scene, but the film’s standout set-piece – a bone-crunching hand-to-hand fight sequence between Andy and Nile aboard a cargo plane. “I was literally thrown into my first action film,” Layne chuckles. “I was like, ‘Who does this on their first day?!’ But I’m thankful because from there everything else was, ‘I’ve got the part that scared me the most out of the way. And so now, let’s have some fun!’”
“I like those,” Theron adds, between bursts of enthusiastic praise for her fearless co-star. “It always sets the tone for the movie. I always say, ‘Yeah, let’s do something really kickass, rather than start off with some lame stuff.’ And I also liked that KiKi and I kicked it off, because our relationship was so important in the film. So I really wanted to start it with her.”
Tor Prince-Bythewood, who previously directed the pilot for Marvel TV show Cloak & Dagger but was otherwise new to action, the film was a major learning experience, but one she embraced after a few choice words from filmmaking friends.
“It was a big jump,” Prince-Bythewood says of the globe-trotting, action-packed production. “Before the shoot I had the opportunity to talk to Rian Johnson, who is just such an incredible filmmaker. He was finishing up his Star Wars. I asked him, ‘How do you not get overwhelmed by the bigness, the toys, and the money?’ And he said, ‘It’s simple. You focus on the story. And it doesn’t matter how much money you have.’ For me to be able to remind myself of that, it was so grounding. And it’s absolutely true. You start with the story first.”
With the comic still a going concern after three years and 10 issues, there’s plenty of story left for filmmakers to draw on for potential follow-ups. And everyone involved is game for a sequel. “We went into this talking about that as a possibility, and it’s definitely something that excites us,” says Theron, who also has another pulse-quickening sequel in development at Netflix: Atomic Blonde 2. “We took [AB2] to them and Scott Stuber [Head of Original Films at Netflix] was really interested in it. We talked to him about it extensively, and we’re in the process of writing it right now. That character was set up in a way where she didn’t really reveal much of herself. So I feel like there’s a lot of potential there. The bar’s pretty high, but we’re excited about it.”
While a question mark remains over Andy, Nile and the rest of the Old Guard returning to screens, what isn’t in question is that alongside Birds Of Prey, Black Widow, Wonder Woman 1984 and The Eternals, The Old Guard is helping revolutionise comic-book movies. “I feel that women can absolutely bring something different to the genre, and we’re finally starting to see that,” Prince-Bythewood says. “And I think it’s a beautiful thing. It was supremely important to me that these women are believable as warriors. That’s so important to be able to put into the world, and for women to look up and see themselves reflected in a heroic way.”
THE OLD GUARD STREAMS ON NETFLIX FROM 10 JULY.